


Flame

by laffytaffylafayette



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/M, Gen, Kind of inspired by a Hamiltalia AU me and a few others were working on/planning out., M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 14:38:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8212309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laffytaffylafayette/pseuds/laffytaffylafayette
Summary: Feliciano just wanted a happy relationship, but would it happen?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [My friend](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=My+friend).



Feliciano didn't ask for any of this. That much was definitely true, at least. He himself wasn't even sure what started this whole fiasco. In fact, did he even know for sure what was happening? Why was Alfred continuously leaving? Why was Alfred being so secretive? Why was Alfred so distant? Did Feliciano have answers? Well... No. He couldn't come up with answers. It seemed impossible. Nothing was wrong. Nothing was happening. Everything was perfect. He was probably just imagining things, right? It seemed logical. Yet still, a part of his mind still nagged that in fact, something was going on with Alfred. Should he ignore that persistent thought? He definitely wanted to, that was certain. Did he? Maybe... It was unusual. 

Why should he suspect Alfred of anything? Alfred had done nothing to hurt him. Ever. He had no right to suspect him... His husband... Maybe he did have the right... Who knows...? Only time would tell, as it seemed... Why did he always think of Alfred? Why wouldn't he just leave his thoughts alone? Why was it that Feliciano was so helplessly, hopelessly in love with him? Oh, it could seem like torture at times... Before it seemed like heaven; Alfred was amazing...

Alfred was out now. Should he try and find anything, whether it be good or bad, to try and get answers? Would it be best to just ask him? What would be better? Either one would suck if it ended up being something bad... Would it be worse to have the person you love tell it straight to your face? Or would it be better to find out through physical evidence? Would Feliciano even be ready either way?

He'd wait. He would ask Alfred tonight. If he didn't get a straight answer, he'd have to start looking around.

~~

The two were currently sitting at the table for dinner. Feliciano had prepared it that night. It wasn't anything special, though. It was just some form of soup; maybe cream of chicken. Either way, it doesn't really matter.

To Feliciano's disappointment, Alfred and him hadn't spoken so far, besides for a few words of greetings and thanks. They both were unusually silent; both of them were good at carrying on conversations, but it seemed like nothing would break the silence between the two. Feliciano should ask now. But if Alfred just said nothing was happening, would the silence be worse? Would they fight? Would he tell the truth? Only one way to find out.

"Hey, Alfred?" Feliciano almost whispered. Oh God, he almost hoped Alfred wouldn't hear him.

But no, Alfred did hear him, yet, he didn't even look at Feliciano when he answered. "Yes?"

"I-" How would he ask? He couldn't voice all of his suspicions, could he?

Alfred sighed and looked at Feliciano, his eyes softening a little when he saw his somewhat upset face. Feliciano was never really good with hiding his emotions. Recently, Alfred noted, he had been getting better with that, and Alfred didn't know why Feliciano felt the need too, but... "What's wrong, Feli?"

"I- uh, nothing. It's just... I don't know. Are you okay Alfred? You haven't seemed like yourself lately... You've been distant... And I want to know why. Did something happen?" Feliciano gave a small, upset laugh. "I know I'm probably just worrying for nothing..." He looked back up at Alfred, and noticed that he visably stiffened, just a little bit. To anyone else, they wouldn't have noticed. Feliciano on the other hand, noticed almost straightaway.

Alfred cast his eyes back down to the table. "Nothing's wrong. There's just a lot of stuff at work happening... I'm just stressed."

It seemed reasonable... Almost. Alfred always talked about what stressed him... He hadn't mentioned anything lately. Could it be a lie? Possibly... Maybe... No? Yes?

"Oh. Are you sure? Is there anything I could do to help?" Feliciano asked, a hint of hopefulness is his voice. If Alfred let him help with whatever was going on, maybe these feelings of doubt would go away.

"I- No, Feliciano. I'm sorry. I need to work on it my self. And... I should probably sleep. I haven't gotten much lately." He stood up an placed his bowl and cutlery next to the sink, and turned to leave.

 _Feliciano_ _,_ was all he noted. Alfred almost never used his full name... Ever. "Wait!" Feliciano practically shouted, causing Alfred to turn and look at him quizzically. Feliciano stood up, his face partially flushed. "I..." He rushed forward desperately, pushing Alfred up against the wall, and clashed their lips together I'm some form of reassurance. Albiet hesitantly, as Feliciano noticed, Alfred cupped Feliciano's fave in his hands and kissed him back.

Alred pulled away after a moment, his face flushed, and Feliciano relucrantly stepped back away from Alfred.

Alfred gave a soft smile that seemed both genuine and forced at the same time. "Good night, Feliciano."

_Feliciano_ _._

~~

Alfred was at work, as he usually was at this time. He had just left an hour before, in fact. Feliciano didn't know what he himself exactly did during his free time. He didn't exactly have a 'job', really. The only times he would earn money was if the local schools needed a substitute. Of course, the schools rarely needed one, but any extra income was great. And besides, working with kids could actually be fun, especially if they were at an age where they weren't too disobedient; Feliciano found that 6th grade was his favourite.

Today, like most other days, he wasn't called in, which was good in some ways. He could spend the day at home, and work on his own home schedule; but it was also kind of bad in another way, as there really wasn't any distraction from Alfred's odd behaviour.

Speaking of Alfred's odd behaviour, Feliciano really did believe that it was time to look into it. But where would he start? Going through Alfred's stuff was a violation of privacy, as well as trust coming from Alfred' side. But he didn't necessarily have to know...

Yes. He was going to do it. He had to if he were to get somewhere, anywhere, with this fiasco...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and welcome to my first multi-chapter fanfiction on this account, and first non-The Maine's American Candy album themed one as well! I'm writing this for a friend, so I hope she enjoys ;)


	2. Chapter 2

Yes. He was going to do it. He had to if he were to get somewhere, anywhere, with this fiasco...

One step... Two step... Three step... Four step... On, and on to the bedroom they shared. It seems excruciatingly slow somehow, yet... It was over in what seemed like a split second.

Alfred had his work area -or 'office', as he called it - in a tight, cramped corner of their room. It annoyed Feliciano to no end. They had a nice basement where they could put his office... It could work, honestly, but Alfred had always hated the basement for some reason. Maybe it was just the fact that there was no natural light down there; that could get tiresome after a while.

Where would Alfred even keep something that he would want to hide from Feliciano? He had that safe... Feliciano didn't know the passcode. But that was too easy... Alfred would be more creative than that.

Under the bed? It wouldn't make much sense. Closet? Attic? Bureau? Foyer? None of those would make much sense either. There was always under the floorboards, although Feliciano doubted Alfred would stand for a loose floorboard.

The basement. Maybe that would be where it was hidden? They didn't have much down there, aside from a few storage boxes and some old furniture. He would check there...

The basement itself was down a flight of stairs that were covered by one of those trap doors, which in their case, was buried under mounds of clothes in their closet. It wasn't too convenient for when they actually _needed_ something from down there, but it was not that hard to just push the heap to the side; they made it work.

Feliciano carefully placed a foot of each of the steps one at a time; he made sure that both feet were on one step before moving on to the next. He couldn't really see the stairs, and they were incredibly steep for some odd reason; it was definitely a safety hazard.

Once safely standing at the foot of the stairs, he flung his arm around until he found the string that turned on the light. Eventually, he did find it, and quickly turned gave it a tug, illuminating the basement.

Small piles of boxes lined the walls, and furniture was left around the room aimlessly. That didn't matter, though, because like it was mentioned before, the two rarely made their way into the basement.

The structure of the bademnt itself, well, it was like the upstairs. Surprisingly, they had walls of drywall and floors of wood instead of cement floors and walls. Feliciano supposed that the previous owner of the house used the area for entertainment. It seemed fitting. If it all worked out, he would have to ask Alfre about utilising the soave more...

Back to the plot. Feliciano had no idea where to even start. He knew Alfred absolutely _hated_ opening the boxes down here, as there was always some type of large insect - mostly cave dwelling crickets - that honestly creeped out Feliciano as well. Of course, anyone would probably be afraid of such a creature. The furniture was a likely place to start...

Checking under the furniture, under the cushions, behind pillows, under blankets, etc. took a while. They didn't have much furniture, but Feliciano wanted to double check everything. He came up empty-handed.

Not the boxes.

Not the furniture.

What else could there be? Behind the drywall? Under the floorboards?

 _Under_ _the_ _floorboards_ _._

He knew Alfred hated rickety floors - he had fixed all of the floors on the upstairs level of the house, after all - but neither had done anything with the basement.

 _The_ _floorboards_ _._

Feliciano felt around using the toe of his shoe to test out each floorboard. Did he expect to find anything? No. Did he find something? Well, despite how cliché it sounds, yes. He did in fact find something.

It was tucked away under a small section of floor in a corner of the basement. Maybe the section was two feet wide, two feet long, at the most. Just a simple square.

Inside: a box. A little larger than half a cubic foot.

The contents of the box: letters and legal documents, for example, bank records. The letters? Well, they were all from the same person. Someone by he name Natalya Arlovskaya. Feliciano had never heard of her before. Who was she? The letters definitely answered that.

They were letters of affection. Was it one-sided? Oh dear God, Feliciano desperately hoped so.

 _They_ _didn't_ _seem_ _like_ _it_ _._

There were other letters, too. All the others, which was only about four or five, were all from an Ivan Braginsky. All the bank records were also of checks made out to that 'Ivan Braginsky' too.

 _Dearest_ _Alfred_ _, (_ _September_ _3rd)_  
 _I_ _do_ _hope_ _that_ _this_ _reaches_ _you_ _well_ _enough_ _._ _I_ _know_ _I_ _am_ _not_ _one_ _to_ _call_ _on_ _others_ _for_ _support_ _,_ _as_ _I_ _am_ _too_ _prideful_ _with_ _myself_ _._ _But_ _lately_ _,_ _I_ _have_ _not_ _been_ _feeling_ _that_ _way_ _._ _Ever_ _since_ _that_ _night_ _I_ _know_ _I_ _have_ _done_ _both_ _you_ _and_ _me_ _wrong_ _._ _The_ _worst_ _part_ _is_ _,_ _I_ _need_ _more_ _._ _Please_ _,_ _all_ _I'm_ _asking_ _is_ _for_ _more_ _,_ _Alfred_ _._  
 _Your's_ _,_  
 _Natalya_ _Arlovskaya_

 _Alfred_ _F_ _._ _Jones_ _, (_ _October_ _10th)_  
 _It_ _has_ _come_ _to_ _my_ _attention_ _that_ _you_ _and_ _my_ _beloved_ _sister_ _,_ _Natalya_ _Arlovskaya_ _,_ _are_ _engaging_ _in_ _some_ _sort_ _of_ _activities_ _together_ _._ _To_ _see_ _her_ _in_ _distress_ _,_ _I_ _cannot_ _bear._ _But_ _as_ _for_ _you_ _,_ _I_ _would_ _love_ _to_ _see_ _it_ _._ _I_ _do_ _not_ _feel_ _bad_ _for_ _you_ _,_ _but_ _your_ _betrothed_ _,_ _I_ _pity_ _._ _You_ _wouldn't_ _want_ _be_ _telling_ _your_ _dearest_ _, now_ _would_ _you_ _?_ _I_ _want_ _money_ _,_ _Mr_ _._ _Jones_ _._ _We'll_ _negotiate_ _a_ _price_ _later_ _._ _Don't_ _tell_ _anyone_ _._ _You_ _can_ _find_ _me_ _at_ _my_ _sister's_ _house_ _._  
 _Ivan_ _Braginsky_

 _Dearest Alfred, (_ _October_ _17th)_  
 _I_ _am_ _sorry_ _._ _I_ _am_ _truly_ _sorry_ _._ _To_ _think_ _that_ _my_ _bother_ _decided_ _to_ _basically_ _blackmail_ _you_ _seems_ _unthinkable_ _._ _Forgive_ _us_ _._ _I_ _can't get_ _him_ _to_ _drop_ _the_ _cause_ _._ _So_ _just_ _pay_ _._ _Pay_ _and_ _we_ _can_ _be_ _together_ _._ _As_ _long_ _as_ _he_ _gets_ _the_ _money_ _,_ _we_ _can_ _continue_ _to_ _meet_ _together_ _._  
 _Please_ _,_  
 _Natalya_ _Arlovskaya_

At this point, Feliciano didn't even _care_ _._ It was so, _so_ _,_ unlike Alfred. Smiling, sweet, caring Alfred. Oh God... How would he even face him?

Something like this had happened before. Feliciano knew that Alfred and his ex Antonio were still going with nightly activities when Alfred and Feliciano had just started their relationship... Antonio and Alfred really hadn't even broken up, so to speak. They just simply drifted apart into whatever they exactly had going on. Alfred and Lovino - who was Feliciano's older brother, definitely had somrhing going on at one point. It wasn't physical, from what Feliciano had gathered. It just seemed like they were just crushing on each other, as lame as it sounds, only just a bit more romantic than just liming someone. But all of those things, Alfred had told the truth... And those all happened years ago... The two were even _married_ now. Why, _why_ did Alfred have to do this?

Clutching the letters to his chest, he couldn't even summon up tears, at least not yet. Oh... Feliciano could almost laugh. What would his dear grandfather say to this?

How long was he sitting there? It couldn't have been known. He was just numb. He couldn't feel anything after a while. Tears eventually did fall. Then they'd stop. And they'd fall again.

"Feliciano?" A voice called.

He immediately tensed up. Alfred. He didn't respond. He just waited. Alfred would be down in a minute. Sure enough, Alfred did come down.

Alfred immediately noticed something was wrong with Feliciano. He was basically curling in on himself, and he didn't make any sound. Alfred slowly walked over to him.

"Feliciano?"

No answer; only a few strangled cries of what seems like grief.

Alfred was on his knees besides Feliciano in a second, barely taking notice of the fact that Feliciano almost flinched at their contact.

"Feliciano? What's wrong?" No reply. "Answer me, Feliciano. What's wrong."

The only answer he got was a fistful of papers shoved violently into his chest, causing Alfred's ees to widen in some sort of realisation.

"Oh- I- Feliciano." He reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, but Felicano sttod up.

"NO!" Feliciano practically screeched. He rarely ever raised his voice at anyone, yet he was pretty good at it when need be. "No, Alfred! No. No. Oh God, no..." He looked at Alfred for a moment, before sprinting up the stairs, not really caring at all when he stumbled and tripped a few times.

Oh God... Oh God...


	3. Chapter 3

_Oh God... Oh God..._

It didn't take long for Lovino to piece together Feliciano's jumbled words.

_Alfred_ _._ _Cheating_ _._ _Natalya_ _._ _Blackmail_ _._

Lovino himself had never believed Alfred, the Alfred he known, and loved, had the ability to cheat on his little brother yet again.

 _How_ _in_ _the_ _world_ _could_ _anyone_ _betray_ _Feliciano's_ _trust_ _?_

Feliciano didn't deserve it. Oh God, how he didn't deserve it. Lovino would do anything to possibly spare Feliciano's feelings here. He would glady switch positions with his younger brother any day, just so he wouldn't have to go trough any of this. But oh, Lovino did know how much Alfred had meant to Feliciano, and he didn't believe that his little brother would give up any of the wonderful moments with him, no matter how much Alfred had hurt him.

 _Why_ _was_ _Feliciano_ _like_ _that_ _?_

He didn't deserve it. Feliciano hadn't hurt anybody. How could anyone hurt him. He shouldn't have been subjected to any of his in the first place.

Tomorrow, Lovino would go talk to Alfred.  Right now, it was late, and he needed to get Feliciano settled down and asleep.

Tomorrow. He knew Feliciano didn't _want_ him to do anything about it, but Lovino just _did_ _not_ _give_ _a_ _single_ _fuck_ at this point.

_Tomorrow_ _._

~~

Lovino was driving over to Alfred's house; Feliciano was still asleep. He had left a note for him, so that when he waked up, he wouldn't freak out. Lovino hoped he would be okay.

The drive to Alfred's house was long, and Lovino wondered how Feliciano managed to get from there to his brother's house without crashing. It wasn't that he was a bad driver, it was just the fact that he had probably been crying for most, or at least part of the ride. Lovino wasn't even sobbing, and yet he had a hard time paying attention to his surroundings. His hands clutched the steering wheel until his knuckles were white, and anyone could tell from a single look that he was _fuming_ _._

He kept imagining how it would end up when he got to Alfred's house. And he prayed to God that Alfred was both home, and opened the door for him. If he didn't, well, Lovino knew where the spare key was.

Finally, he reached Alfred's street, and parked the car a few feet away from his house. Okay, this had to work. It might not fix anything, but Lovino needed to let some of that anger out, or he would probably go insane.

Alright.

He stepped out of he car and walked - Lovino hoped he looked both confident and angry - down the sidewalk and up to the front door of the house. When he gave two sharp knocks to the door, Alfred almost immediately answered.

Alfred looked like a wreck; bags under his eyes, tangled hair, dirty clothes, tear stained face The fact that he looked so disheveled and upset just angered Lovino even more.

"Feliciano- I- Is he alright?" Alfred practically screamed at Lovino.

Lovino wanted to slap him, so bad, but he refrained.

"What do you think, Alfred? What do you think? You complete fucking _idiot_. How did you live with yourself, Alfred? Knowing that you were cheating on him with another? How did it feel? What inspired you to do it? Why did you start in the first place? Oh God, how did you even meet that... _Whore_ _?_ Was that what she was to you?"

Alfred's face hardened slightly. "Lovino... You can't be that upset... Please... I need to explain. Just... I need you to listen, Lovino... Please..."

"Listen? Explain? I can barely stand to _look_ at your face right now. I am not on your side, Alfred. I am staying with my family. Feliciano isn't in the wrong here; you are. I don't give a fuck that before that we had, God forbid, something between us. It doesn't matter."

"Lovino..."

"No, Alfred. Just stop. And fuck, if you're going to talk to Feliciano about this, don't expect him to forgive you. Oh, he'd definitely want to. How? I have no idea. But the thing is, he won't forgive you, and neither will I. You betrayed his trust; the trust he so strongly put in you. I can't believe it.  I-I'll see you later, Alfred." He turned to leave.

"Lovino... Please just... Let Feliciano know I want to talk... Please." Alfred's voice shook slightly, and the words came out almost as a whisper.

Lovino stood in the doorway, silently, for a moment, before letting out a sigh. "We'll see." Was all he said before leaving.

 _This_ _whole_ _situation_ _definitely_ _wasn't_ _worth_ _it_ _._


	4. Chapter 4

_This_ _whole_ _situation_ _definitely_ _wasn't_ _worth_ _it_ _._

 _"_ _Why_ _do_ _we_ _even_ _have_ _to_ _be_ _here_ _?"_ _Sebastiano_ _asked_ _._

 _"_ _Who_ _knows_ _?"_ _Lovino_ _rolled_ _his_ _eyes_ _. "_ _Grandpa_ _just_ _wanted_ _us_ _here_ _,_ _probably_ _just_ _to_ _get_ _us_ _to_ _do_ _something_ _."_

 _Feliciano_ _sighed_ _. "_ _I_ _think_ _it's_ _fine_ _,_ _although_ _,_ _it's_ _kind_ _of_ _awkward_ _to_ _get_ _food_ _here_ _."_

 _The_ _other_ _two_ _nodded_ _in_ _agreement_ _._ _The_ _three_ _were_ _currently_ _at_ _a_ _'_ _party'_ _type_ _thing_ _._ _It_ _wasn't_ _exactly_ _a_ _'_ _party'_ _,_ _it_ _was_ _more_ _of_ _a_ _'_ _hey_ _let's_ _get_ _together'_ _thing_ _with_ _some_ _of_ _the_ _local_ _neighbours_ _._ _So_ _yeah_ _,_ _maybe_ _it_ _was_ _a_ _party_ _._

 _"_ _I'm_ _gonna_ _go_ _find_ _some_ _people_ _to_ _talk_ _to_ _."_ _Sebastiano_ _announced_ _after_ _a_ _moment_ _._ _At_ _the_ _other_ _two's_ _looks_ _of_ _concern_ _,_ _he_ _spoke_ _again_ _. "_ _Don't_ _worry_ _._ _I'll_ _be_ _fine_ _._ _And_ _if_ _Grandpa_ _asks_ _,_ _I'm_ _in_ _the_ _bathroom_ _."_

 _"_ _Don't_ _count_ _on_ _him_ _to_ _believe_ _it_ _!"_ _Lovino_ _called_ _after_ _him_ _as_ _he_ _walked_ _away_ _._

 _Feliciano_ _and_ _Lovino_ _stood_ _next_ _to_ _each_ _other_ _in_ _silence_ _for_ _the_ _next_ _few_ _moments_ _._

 _"_ _What_ _now_ _?"_ _Feliciano_ _asked_ _._

_"_ _Food_ _?"_

_"_ _We_ _just_ _got_ _food_ _."_

_"_ _So_ _?"_

_"_ _Good_ _point_ _."_

Alfred had adopted a child. Since Feliciano and him never divorced - they hadn't wanted to pay the fee to the church, and there was also the fact that they were just too afraid to end it all - Feliciano was technically the child's guardian too.

The boy's name was Peter. He was a good kid. The two loved him. Peter, though, really only liked Alfred, as he hadn't known he had another legal guardian that was alive; he had always just assumed that the other was dead. So, he always resented Feliciano since then, but it would be safe to say that he had been getting along better with him.

Anyways, Peter, even though he was a good kid, was also quite a trouble maker. The boy had been with two families before this one, and hadn't been able to stay in any of them. The first family had just wanted to get rid of him; they were a foster home, and were just trying to get money. Eventually, they just got tired of him. The next family was the one he liked best; two fathers, just like he had in his current home, and an adopted brother... Well... Foster brother. The family had wanted to adopt him, but it never happened.

So, he ended up here. The Jones-Vargas family did enter into the foster system after the 'incident' between the two. It was mostly just for a distraction. Alfred basically took care of them all. They had a few other kids within the house, but none quite like Peter, who Alfred later decided to fully adopt.

It was a makeshift family... Not the best... But it worked.

 _Feliciano_ _stopped_ _in_ _his_ _tracks_ _,_ _causing_ _Lovino_ _to_ _turn_ _and_ _give_ _him_ _a_ _weird_ _look_ _._

 _"_ _What_ _are_ _you_ _doing_ _,_ _Feliciano_ _?"_ _Lovino_ _asked_ _._

 _"_ _I-_ _over_ _there_ _."_ _He_ _motioned_ _with_ _his_ _head_ _to_ _a_ _blonde_ _man_ _standing_ _at_ _a_ _table_ _._

 _Lovino_ _looked_ _over_ _at_ _the_ _man_ _,_ _and_ _back_ _at_ _Feliciano_ _,_ _giving_ _him_ _another_ _weird_ _look_ _. "_ _Him_ _?_ _What_ _about_ _him_ _?"_

 _"_ _Who_ _is_ _he_ _?"_

 _Lovino_ _shrugged_ _. "_ _I_ _don't_ _know_ _._ _I_ _think_ _his_ _name_ _is_ _Alfred_ _._ _I_ _may_ _be_ _wrong_ _._ _What_ _does_ _it_ _matter_ _to_ _you_ _."_

 _Feliciano_ _sighed_ _,_ _and_ _looked_ _around_ _nervously_ _,_ _not_ _responding_ _._

 _Lovino_ _raised_ _an_ _eyebrow_ _. "_ _I'll_ _be_ _back_ _."_

It was Peter's thirteenth birthday. Alfred had adopted him when he was ten. Three years. So much had happened but, it felt shorter than that.

Feliciano was over, mostly for Peter's sake. Sure, he loved Peter, but being around Alfred... Not so much.

Although Peter would never admit it, he was absolutely delighted when Feliciano had showed up.

"Hey, Mr. Vargas?" One of Peter's friends asked.

"Yes?" Feliciano looked at them.

"... Why don't you live with them?"

He didn't answer.

 _Feliciano_ _watched_ _nervously_ _as_ _Lovino_ _walked_ _over_ _to_ _Alfred_ _,_ _as_ _Lovino_ _called_ _him_ _._ _What_ _was_ _he_ _doing_ _?_ _Oh_ _God_ _,_ _it_ _better_ _not_ _be_ _anything_ _bad_ _._ _Oh_ _God_ _._

 _Lovino_ _approached_ _him_ _quickly_ _,_ _trying_ _to_ _put_ _on_ _a_ _facade_ _of_ _importance_ _and_ _confidence_ _._ _When_ _he_ _approached_ _the_ _table_ _,_ _Alfred_ _looked_ _up_ _at_ _him_ _._

 _"_ _Hello_ _,"_ _Lovino_ _greeted_ _._

 _Alfred_ _dipped_ _his_ _head_ _politely_ _. "_ _Hello_ _."_

 _"_ _You're_ _new_ _here_ _?_ _I_ _haven't_ _seen_ _you_ _around_ _before_ _."_

 _Alfred_ _nodded_ _,_ _looking_ _back_ _over_ _the_ _food_ _._ _"_ _Yeah_ _._ _Moved_ _here_ _a_ _few_ _weeks_ _back_ _._ _It's_ _nice_ _here_ _."_

 _Lovino_ _gave_ _a_ _nod_ _in_ _agreement_ _._

Peter grew up fast, to say the least. By the time he was nineteen, he had already finished his second year at college.

It was heartwarming, yet heartbreaking to say the least. Their little boy was growing up. Well, they were almost like separate families to Peter. Maybe it wasn't, in their heart, 'their' little boy. Maybe it was. Only on Peter's important days, whether it be birthdays or something else important, would Feliciano and Alfred try to act like a good family for the boy. Even if it wasn't perfect, Peter knew they were trying, and that was good enough for him.

 _Lovino_ _and_ _Alfred_ _continued_ _taking_ _for_ _a_ _while_ _,_ _and_ _Lovino_ _felt_ _himself_ _digging_ _a_ _hole_ _he_ _would_ _definitely_ _regret_ _someday._

 _Oh_ _,_ _Alfred_ _,_ _while_ _being_ _a_ _total_ _loser_ _,_ _was_ _somehow_ _charming_ _._ _Lovino_ _felt_ _himself_ _falling_ _into_ _that_ _hole_ _._

_Shit_ _._

_He_ _had_ _to_ _find_ _a_ _way_ _out_ _of_ _this_ _._ _Lovino_ _knew_ _that_ _Feliciano_ _was_ _watching_ _._ _Introducing_ _them_ _would_ _work_ _..._ _Possibly_ _._

 _Why_ _was_ _Feliciano_ _attracted_ _to_ _him_ _?_ _They_ _hadn't_ _even_ _talked_ _._ _Yes_ _,_ _Lovino_ _noted_ _that_ _he_ _himself_ _would_ _have_ _been_ _attracted_ _to_ _him_ _as_ _well_ _,_ _but he_ _sensed_ _something_ _off_ _._ _He_ _pushed_ _that_ _to_ _the_ _side_ _._ _It_ _was_ _probably_ _just_ _him_ _._

 _"_ _Come_ _on_ _."_ _Lovino_ _ordered_ _after_ _a_ _silent_ _moment_ _between_ _him_ _and_ _Alfred_ _._ _He_ _started_ _walking_ _before_ _he_ _got_ _a_ _response_ _._

 _Alfred_ _ran_ _to_ _catch_ _up_ _. "_ _Where_ _are_ _we_ _going_ _?"_

 _Lovino_ _shrugged_ _and_ _continued_ _walking_ _;_ _Alfred_ _gave_ _a_ _sigh_ _of_ _frustration_ _._

Peter was graduating college. Twenty two and ready to take on the world. By this point he had stopped resenting Feliciano. Maybe had had for a while. Maybe he hadn't. Either way, it was the first time Feliciano was told by Peter that he loved him.

Feliciano may have cried a little at that, and he wished he had been in Peter's life more as a child. Peter had been through a lot. Feliciano probably was not what he wanted in a parent. Either way, Peter accepted him.

That was all that mattered.

_"Hello, Feliciano. I have brought along a... Friend. This is Alfred." Lovino introduced._

_Alfred smiled and held out his hand for Feliciano to shake. "Nice to meet you."_

_Feliciano shook his hand. "Same to you." He smiled easily at him._

_Well..._

_"I'll be back soon." Lovino said quietly, and at their somewhat panicking looks - they were unsure if they wanted to keep talking without Lovino around - he sighed. "Don't worry. I'm just checking up on Sebastiano. I think I saw him with Antonio earlier..."_

_Feliciano and Alfred stared after Lovino as he walked away, and then back at each other._

_This was going to be a while._

Son. Peter. Gunshot.

What was happening? It almost felt like a dream... A really, really bad dream...

They had run into each other at the entrance to the hospital. It felt fake almost; the reality had not yet sunken in.

Peter had been hit by a stray bullet. He was currently in critical condition.

They were allowed visitation. He was barely conscious when they were in the room.

They talked for a while. It was all meaningless conversations. Although, they ended up being more important than they realised.

Peter had apologised to Feliciano about how he had treated him as a child.

Feliciano had forgiven him already.

Peter's life had slipped away after that.

Feliciano screamed when he realised that Peter - his Peter, _their_ Peter - was gone. Alfred had started crying. The doctors told then that they needed to leave the hospital room.

It wasn't fair. None of it was. The one thing that Feliciano and Alfred still shared was gone. It wasn't fair to Peter, either. He spent a lot of his childhood moving homes, and he finally found a family that kept him. He had his whole life ahead of him, then. Graduated college early with a masters degree, and was ready to take on the world as an adult.

Then it was all gone.

_Even months after the party - or gathering, if you will - Feliciano and Alfred had kept in touch. They had been living in the same neighbourhood, after all._

_They had kept in touch through anything they could really: texts, letters, phone calls, email - basically whatever worked._

_They had started going out after two, maybe three, months. Alfred still had an on and off relationship with Antonio, though. That quickly ended after Lovino mentioned it to him._

_It took about about two years before Alfred had asked the question. Feliciano had accepted, obviously. Lovino had been a bit upset; Sebastiano didn't really care, although he was happy for his older brother._

_Romulus, their grandfather as well as their legal guardian for them when they were still minors, had mixed feelings about the whole thing. He accepted it nonetheless._

It wasn't until a few months after Peter's death that Feliciano and Alfred really talked.

Lovino was actually the one who suggested that they should talk. Yes, he himself still resented Alfred for all that shit he pulled years ago, but he realised that they needed to just talk it out - everything.

The first few minutes between them were awkward. They had talked before, obviously, but it was mostly just about Peter.

"So..." Feliciano awkwardly started the conversation after a while.

"So..." Alfred responded. After a moment, he continued. "We should start talking..."

Feliciano sighed. "What is there to talk about, Alfred? What happened, happened. That's all there is to it."

Silence.

"I'm sorry." Alfred whispered, his eyes cast downwards.

"Excuse me?" Feliciano questioned.

"I said I'm sorry." Alfred responded, looking back up at Feliciano.

Feliciano nodded slightly, not sure what to say.

Alfred looked slightly uncomfortable being the only one to talk, but continued anyways.

"I know that you are still upset...  And always will be... I asked Lovino back when it all first happened to ask you to talk to me... He didn't listen... Although he did make us do this. So in a way, he did do what I asked." He sighed after a moment, before continuing. " I get that I don't deserve to be forgiven. I get that. But please... Just let me have a second chance... You don't have to forgive... But please. We need someone after... After Peter's... Oh God... Death... I know you have Lovino... But he wasn't that close to Peter... Please..."

"I- uh... Alfred. I get that you are sorry... But I don't think I can give a second chance. I... We could be friends... I don't know about anything more, if that's what you're.looking for... I know that by law we're still technically... Together, but I don't consider us that. You don't either. I'm sorry, Alfred. But I can't do that."

Alfred swallowed sadly. "It's fine... I kind of expected as much." He smiled. "Friends?"

Feliciano gave a small smile back. "Friends."

_Would it be stereotypical to say that it felt like heaven on Earth when Feliciano and Alfred had their wedding?_

_Well, to them it felt like it._

_Their wedding wasn't that special. Oh no, it definitely was not._

_Only close friends showed up, and the whole thing was carried out in a small, old church. The reception was held at a small hotel. It wasn't too bad._

_Lovino had spent most of the wedding talking with Sebastiano, Antonio, Gilbert, and Francis, much to his displeasure. He escaped their group as often as he could to go talk to other people there, which mostly just included his grandfather, Alfred, and Feliciano._

_The priest, Father_ _Hugues_ _had done an excellent job with the ceremony; although Gilbert was pissed that it was him. (No one knows why.)_

_To Feliciano, the night was magical. To Alfred, the night was perfect._

Alfred died in a car crash about twenty six years after they made up, at the age of 63 - some drunk driving incident.

Lovino lived for another 15 years and died of natural causes.

Feliciano lived for another twenty after Alfred died; he had died of old age.

Sebastiano died of sickness seven years before Alfred

Feliciano lived a good life, in his opinion. He had family, people who cared. He was resentful of Alfred too much after he died.

He might have even forgiven. It took over four decades - maybe even over five. Either way...

Maybe this was the happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I am very proud of this, I am not too fond of the ending. This was really random, yet important events throughout their life together. It kind of needed to be included, in a way.
> 
> I think that the characters here are pretty out of character, but whatever. (I'm not satisfied with Feliciano or Lovino. I think I did well enough with Alfred... maybe.)
> 
> And also, before I forget, the priest is actually Knights Templar (yes he has an official design!!!) He doesn't have a human name, but someone gave him the fanon name of Hugues, so that's that!


End file.
